In a move that will surprise no one, “tinseltown sources” told The New York Daily News that Warner Bros. is looking to develop the stage play of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child into a film by 2020. They would also like to have Daniel Radcliffe on board as Harry once again, also not a shock. By releasing the script to The Cursed Child, J.K. Rowling and her team acknowledge that most fans cannot make the journey to London’s West End to see the play performed over two nights, and everyone stands to make even more cash money if a script goes into production. There are numerous hurdles to overcome in getting the cast back together, not to mention things such as sets and locations that may have to be recreated.

As Dan Van Winkle at The Mary Sue notes, there is a major casting issue beyond Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson’s busy filming schedules – Alan Rickman is no longer with us. Snape makes a brief appearance in The Cursed Child (and no, I won’t spoil how or why), but it would be unfortunate to have to recast Snape when Rickman was truly iconic in the role. At least the rest of the story largely focuses on Harry’s son Albus, which will allow for the familiar characters that surround him at Hogwarts to return, having naturally aged. I certainly see the appeal of applying movie magic to The Cursed Child script, as there is great potential for new characters (such as Delphi) to become known to a worldwide audience and for Albus’s adventures to be given the same grand scale as Harry’s. However, I am getting a Jurassic Park/Ian Malcolm vibe off the entire idea – just because they could, doesn’t mean they should.

The Daily News article also mentioned the potential for turning the script into a trilogy, which seems extremely unnecessary and silly. They could easily make Harry Potter and the Cursed Child into one film. We’d all pay for it and sit through it. Besides, didn’t anyone learn from The Hobbit trilogy? That could have been two movies, tops. Splitting Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows into two films was also unnecessary, in my opinion. Studios are always driven by the potential for revenue, but I hope they don’t tarnish the Potter legacy by going The Hobbit route and taking a really great (final?) chapter and making us – or Rowling – regret that she decided to revisit Hogwarts. We’ll have to see how this one shakes down!

What do you think about a new Potter movie based on The Cursed Child? Do you want to see Radcliffe & co again or should we just love the existing films? Sound off below or on Twitter!

Amy Imhoff

Amy Imhoff is a writer and editor who blogs at Shoes and Starships, a geek lifestyle blog that specializes in genre fandom, pop culture, travel, fashion, and feminism. She is a featured convention panelist, podcast contributor, and interviewer. Amy has her masters in literature, enjoys a slightly unhealthy obsession with all things British, and likes to sniff old books. Amy is based outside NYC, where she lives with her husband and two silly cats. Find her freaking out about X-Files and Star Trek @lightstar1013